Will Never Know

Can't help but wonder, with all their success, what would the US women's gymnastics teams have been able to accomplish had they been treated with the respect they deserved.

Oh Well

Thought a warm base layer legging would be a nice Christmas gift.  Went to Academy. Sold out. In stock on Academy.com, so ordered there.  Arrived Fedex.  Packing slip correct, box contained an Astros World Series flag.  Returned to store, refunded, and reordered.  Fedex delivered today.  Packing slip correct, base layer legging in box, wrong size.  Returned to store, refunded, given up.  I can take a hint, I guess.

"Green" Lesson Learned

Stopped by the local big box hardware store, among other things, to pick up a quart of mineral spirits, to replenish my gallon can.  Found something in a plastic quart bottle labelled mineral spirits.  The bottle was also labeled "green," explaining that it is lower odor and a lower VOC (volatile organic compounds) emission blend.  OK.

Got it home, pulled the seal, and poured it into my gallon can.  What came out of the bottle was a thick, milky white, something that smelled a little like mineral spirits, but clearly was not.  A little subsequent web research identifies the stuff as an emulsified water/mineral spirits mixture.

This stuff is worthless for its intended purpose, as it will not clean a paint brush of varnish or oil-based paint and, if used to thin varnish or oil-based paint, the water will separate out and fall to the bottom of the can, leaving the varnish or paint ruined.  I also ruined the actual mineral spirits in my gallon can, since it turned the combined stuff into a thinner milky white unusable can of yuck.  I used the concoction to kill some grass growing in an expansion joint in the street in front of the house.

So, here's another green fail.  Stuff labelled mineral spirits is not fit for its intended use.  Using it will ruin paintbrushes and cans of varnish or paint, and the entire impacted group of materials and supplies are rendered waste.  The stuff was no doubt in a plastic bottle, since it would rust through a metal can.  And, the quart of schmuck was $9.  A whole gallon of real mineral spirits is $15.  Never again.  If you see something - anything - labelled "Kleen Strip Green," turn and walk away.  Buy real mineral spirits and know that what appears to be worse for the environment is, once again, systematically better for it.

Sour Grapes - PCL

The concept of true leadership, accomplishing innovation and improvement through relationships and motivation, seems to be declining, if not disappearing.  Industry and corporations appear to be returning to management centered, command and control supervisory systems.  This becomes a sort of "celebrity worship" environment, with the groupie employees following their "leader" to unlikely success and more likely eventual failure.  (Remember the book, "Flight of the Buffalo?")

All of the hours and dollars spent on attempting to teach managers and supervisors to have balance and principles practiced in their life and work, while valuing the contribution and ideas of others, have therefore been mostly wasted.  Upper management has once again returned to a mode of "when I want your opinion, I'll give it to you - so please wait patiently in your office until I call on you."

Principle-Centered Leadership (PCL) - life and work management practices based on Stephen Covey's "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" - seems a distant, forgotten concept.  Dr. Covey's book is rendered to the back of the bookstore, probably identified as some sort of autobiographical, cult literature.  Stephen Covey died due to complications from a bicycle accident.  Blaine Lee, who assisted Stephen Covey with the development of the Covey Leadership Center, has also now passed.  The Covey Leadership Center, from which training was coordinated, was sold to Franklin, known primarily as a manufacturer of calendars and planners.  Franklin-Covey has since closed all but one of their stores, with the remaining location in Utah, probably mostly responsible for fulfilling web-based sales of their planners.  Training on the meaning and purpose behind use of the original Covey planner has been abandoned, leaving the focus on the tool, not the task.

The PCL process had great promise.  Some refused it.  Some couldn't understand it.  Many learned highly important lessons and found themselves healthier, happier, and actually more effective.  It's a shame that current and future generations won't have the opportunity to explore the potential value.  Perhaps a remnant of the potential still does remain in organizations like Chick-Fil-A, Primrose schools, and other principle-based organizations.  Hope so.

Fact

The inverse of integration is disintegration.

Ironic

Farmers in the Philippines have been protesting, seeking government assistance due to a severe drought.  After four days of protests, the government dispersed the crowd, using water cannons.

Huh?, Completed

The vagabond letter was delivered to its destination address on Saturday.  Booking all the frequent traveller miles.

Huh?, Continued

The vagabond letter, traveling happily from Houston to Austin, via Jackson, Mississippi, has now arrived at a US Post Office facility in Austin, 38 hours after having left Jackson.  Getting its money's worth, I suppose.  Too bad it can't take pictures along the way.  Please folks, just get it finally to 73301.

Reminder

News person on the radio this morning gave the reminder to reset clocks ahead one hour tonight for daylight savings time.  Also stated this would be a good time to change batteries in "non-electric" smoke detectors.  Batteries is 'lectric, too.

Confused

I don't understand how people can flock to a religion that threatens its members with physical death should they depart, when they are equally offered a belief that welcomes them to stay in love.

Enough

Dow drops big this morning.  I tune to Fox Business for an update.  I find Stuart Varney and his desk jockeys laughing about how individual investors can't trade as fast as institutional/professional investors.  Dow is down 1,000 points, and these dopes are yucking it up.  FBN is now firmly on my avoid list.

Business "News"

I used to enjoy business news on CNBC.  I quit watching Cramer, when I learned he belongs to the Sierra Club and he started recommending buy high sell low strategies.  Then CNBC has him on almost all morning.  FBN moved off IMUS, but now have Varney.  Varney is hard to take even when he isn't trying to be a comic.  Bloomberg is unacceptable, because, well, it's Bloomberg.  All have decided seeking financial celebrity and controversy is more important than discussing economic and business indicators of wise investment planning.  Can't remember the last time any of these had true investment advisors providing insights.  It's like watching an old friend turn to the dark side.

Good for Texas

Announcement from the great University of Texas:

AUSTIN — Economic pressures have prompted the University of Texas at Austin officials to stop giving scholarships to some of their best and brightest students. The university will end its National Merit Scholarship program — worth about $13,000 per student — beginning with entering freshmen next fall. "Some people mistakenly feel that this is a signal that UT-Austin is no longer interested in recruiting high-achieving students. That's not the case,” said Thomas Melecki, director of student financial services for the university.

Well, Mr. Melecki, I guess fact is much less important than perception. After all, this is concerning TU, for which students should need no economic incentive to encourage them to attend. Seems a bit arrogant.

Maybe these National Merit Scholars will find motivation to attend an institution of higher learning, like the University of Oklahoma.